The Rahman surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 18,097 people carried this name — #1,994 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 16,300 people counted. That is up 69% from 10,719 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Rahman surname

From Arabic رَحْمَٰن (raḥmān).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rahman» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

352 people named Rahman live in Switzerland.

They live in 15 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Zurich 170
Geneva 43
Bern 37
Vaud 21
Aargau 15
Basel-Stadt 14
Fribourg 10
Solothurn 8

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 271 people named Rahman live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Brussels-Capital 99
Antwerp 78
Liège 30
West Flanders 23
East Flanders 18
Flemish Brabant 15
Namur 8

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Poland’s population register

97 people named Rahman have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 812 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Masovian 32
Lesser Poland 14
Lower Silesian 9
Silesian 8
Łódź 6
Pomeranian 5
Subcarpathian 5
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 5

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 57 people named Rahman live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 28
City of Buenos Aires 17
Mendoza 12

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 43 people named Rahman.

Most of them — 31 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 31
Paris 5
Seine-Saint-Denis 4
Pyrénées-Orientales 1
Essonne 1
Val-d’Oise 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In national population registers

1,943 people named Rahman are counted in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Slovenia.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad. Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 1,311
Norway (2025) 333
Finland (2026) 261
Slovenia (2026) 38

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0 · source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland’s registers today

Rahman was recorded 26 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 937th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Rahman in American newspapers,
1871–1907.

Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Rahman
The Birmingham Age-herald 1907-03-09
Newspaper page from Mineral Point Tribune carrying the name Rahman
Mineral Point Tribune 1871-09-28
Newspaper page from The Dallas Daily Herald carrying the name Rahman
The Dallas Daily Herald 1885-08-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 14 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Rahman in Australian newspapers,
1870s–2000s.

1,363 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Rahman. The most, 587, date from the 1950s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 515
Queensland 365
ACT (Canberra) 217
Western Australia 110
Victoria 62
South Australia 49
Tasmania 24
Northern Territory 7

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Rahman.

Who carried it

People named Rahman,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sabit Rahman
    Sabit Rahman 1910–1970 · screenwriter
  • Sabit Rahman
    Sabit Rahman 1910–1970 · screenwriter
  • Aisha Abd al-Rahman
    Aisha Abd al-Rahman 1913–1998 · writer
  • Afzalur Rahman Masum d. 2021 · cricket umpire
  • Habibur Rahman Modhu d. 2016 · television actor
  • Anika Rahman 1901– · lawyer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Rahman,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States202 records

202 records of the Rahman name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 173
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 11
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 11
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 3
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold C. Rahman

    Born 1910 in Colorado. Enlisted 1943 at Los Angeles, California; watchman from Los Angeles County, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record George Rahman

    Arrived at New York in 1835 aboard the Louisa from London and Portsmouth, aged 23; cabinet maker. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Franklin Rahman

    U.S. Marine Corps veteran of World War II. Born 1907, died 1972; buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 202 records for Rahman in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia11 records

11 records of the Rahman name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Dato Suleiman Bin Rahman

    High commissioner for malaya of Canberra, Victoria; died 1963.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Rahwan Rahman

    Arrived in Victoria in 1906 aboard the Oruba, aged 1.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elisha Rahman

    Arrived in Victoria in 1906 aboard the Oruba, aged 30.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Rahman in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands9 records

9 records of the Rahman name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 5
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Abdul Rahman

    Died 1962 in Overleden op Zee, aged 31; dealer.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ahmed Abdel Mohamed Rahman

    Married in 1935 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Anna Catharina Rahman

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1805 in Varel.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Rahman in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France4 records

4 records of the Rahman name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Vihna Rahman

    Born 1912 in Romania; died 1998 in Montmorency (Val-d'Oise).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Muhammad Rafiqur Rahman

    Born 1952 in Pakistan; died 1993 in Lyon (Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Rahman in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Rahman name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Dietrich Rahman

    From Rüstringen. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 30 October 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Rahman.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Rahman is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Rahman volume
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